-Hindustan Times As per prevailing international prices, the expected subsidy on kerosene sold through the public distribution system in the current financial year is zero. India is expected to save Rs.35,758 crore on kerosene and cooking gas subsidies this year, which is over 91% of the total budgeted fuel subsidy for 2020-21, mainly because of low international oil prices, according to two officials who asked not to be named. As per prevailing international...

-The Indian Express Over the last few weeks, many daily wage labourers and part of the unorganised or informal sector could not find work because of the lockdown. AT LEAST six top corporate leaders are said to have recommended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government should make payments to unorganised sector workers since they bear the brunt of the severe lockdown measures to arrest the spread of Covid-19 disease. N Chandrasekaran,...

-The Hindu Business Line While proposals on agri-warehousing and viability-gap funding are positive, MGNREGA cutbacks could have been avoided The Economic Survey had a full chapter on agriculture and food management issues, highlighting the role of agricultural GDP; Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime, mechanisation of agriculture, farm credit, crop insurance, agri research and education, including in allied sectors such as livestock and fisheries, food processing and agricultural trade, besides rationalisation of food...

-The Hindu Citizens should not be asked to provide the same information more than once to government agencies In June 2014, the Modi government set out to change how the government worked. At that time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke in a meeting of Union Secretaries about “reforming the public service delivery system and bridging the governance deficit” by introducing “self-certification” in place of “affidavits”. That event revealed his enthusiasm and commitment...

-The Indian Express The main reason for rejecting the DCT (as opposed to DBT) option was the belief that paying market price for fertilisers upfront would result in additional financial burden. More than three-fourths of Indian farmers like the new system of fertiliser subsidy linked to sales made to them by retailers being registered on point-of-sale (PoS) machines. This so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT) system, wherein the subsidy to fertiliser companies...